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Monday, January 6, 2014

Rainbow Scrap Sampler - Snowball

I was inspired by the bitter cold that seems to have enveloped most of the country to whip up a quick snowball block. This is a sweet block on its own and also pairs nicely with nine patches.

We are making 4 small snowballs today. I chose a medium and dark blue.
From the dark fabric cut 2 - 3.5 inch squares and 8 - 1.75 inch squares
Repeat with the medium fabric. I didn't have any more of the same medium print, but I chose another one which I thought coordinated nicely.
I you don't have any 1.75 inch squares, you can also use 1.5 inch squares, the corners will be a little smaller, but that is OK.

Take each of the small squares and draw a line diagonally across the middle.

I'm not a big fan of pins. I am however, in favor of glue sticks. Because this block uses "sew and flip" triangles, the part with the glue on it will be discarded. I usually double sew for bonus blocks, but these guys are a bit small. So, just dab a small bit of glue near each corner.

Place the small triangles, right sides together on top of the large square. The glue will hold everything nicely together while it goes through the machine. Notice how the 4 small squares are exactly the same size as the larger square? This makes matching everything up easier. Repeat for each large square making sure to use the lighter colored squares with the darker colored fabric and vice versa.

Next, following the drawn diagonal lines, sew all the way around the block. I try to sew just to the outside of the line to give the corners a little bit of room for flipping.
Now flip each corner back and press flat. Before trimming, I like to check the back to make sure that the triangles go all the way to the edge of the block but not past it. If a corner hangs over, it is easy to trim it so the edges are perfect.

Now fold the corners back for long enough to trim away the double layer behind. I don't stress out about seam allowances for this part since the sewing has already been done, having an uneven seam won't make a bit of difference. Repeat for all four corners on all four blocks.

Here are the four blocks, ready to be sewn together. Notice that the triangles are trying to pop up again. The final pressing will take care of this. Double check to make sure each square is still 3.5 inches.

Sew the four squares together, and check to make sure it is 6.5 inches unfinished. I like the way the triangles all come together in the middle of the block.

I just found out you are doing blocks for us. Thank You. I may have to do some of these. I have a few 6" blocks I did some time back so, if I do some more of yours I may have another quilt. I have not done much sewing. I was sick before Christmas and now I have a new puppy and then dog sitting an extra dog. The dogs are keeping me very busy.